Seems to me that this is a moderately cheap way for a multi-national insurance conglomerate to gather real-time health data on a large portion of their employees - I guess it WOULDN'T be for assessing their health issues, and 'adjusting' their policy premiums accordingly.
Wonder how long it will take for a class-action suit to evolve from this tactic ?
Gotta' love the freedom allowed corporate infrastructures and their legal teams within these 'free' united states !
Jeeez, folks. Doesn't this fall under the general auspices of a 'Public Citizen' who's lifestyle, job, and overall publicity revolves around their PERSONAL INFORMATION IN THE NEWS ? I guess the next step in the 'democratic' state of California is to make it illegal to report on ANY issue / data / personal information of ANY citizen - public official, high profile personage, or 'IN THE NEWS' individual.
I would laugh my a** off if it weren't for real - but, sadly, I just mix another drink and bemoan the state of our legal system.
ps - I STILL hope I live long enough to see 'the year they killed all the lawyers'.
On the same note (unqualified reporters trying to explain basic scientific issues) is the "EQUAL REPORTING" ethos that has pervaded the news media. EVEN IF the evidence is overwhelmingly in the Global Warning arena, the "Equal Reporting" issue SEEMS to show that half - or thereabouts - of the scientific community does NOT believe the evidence supporting Global Warming - - - when the actual numbers approach 95%(+) FOR, and 5% (or so) AGAINST.
The bigger the lie, the easier it is for the masses to believe.
Sadly, and with more than a bit of embarrassment, I worked for a few of these 'diploma mills' - - - and know that they are bound by a legal statute known as the '70-30 rule'. ONLY (lol) 70% of the funding can be government subsidized through loans and grants, the remaining 30% MUST be from 'paying' clients. This number is referred to in the source post - 70% being government assisted. A couple of these schools actually taught some real-world applicable skills and knowledge, but far too many were nothing more than 'suck 'em in, spit 'em out, let the lenders deal with collecting the funds already collected by the 'school' through grants and loans. Hell, one of the recruiters I knew actually 'worked' the bus station to solicit and sign-up people that had no real chance of completing the course, or even getting hired into any decent job related to the course of study (hence my real embarrassment and shame - but a job is a job - and I NEEDED the income I earned as an instructor - and a damned good one - using the training and skills I received from my service in the USAF from 1970 through 1976).
Seriously though, the only significant difference between the privately owned schools and the state owned colleges is that the privately owned schools PROMISED a 'great career opportunity' with their associate degree program. In other words, they were guilty of ACTIVE solicitation of their student body, and were never really held accountable for the actual job placement statistics of their graduates. The legal 'weasel' term is the word __OPPORTUNITY__, and was used to justify the lack of job placement effectiveness because it was just an OPPORTUNITY, even though the promotional material APPEARED to PROMISE this type of career advancement - but was really falling back on the legality of the word OPPORTUNITY ! THIS is NO DIFFERENT from state colleges - with the ONE BIG ISSUE of ACTIVE RECRUITMENT promising great careers (opportunity) if they would just sign on the dotted line for their 'government loan' debt.
BECAUSE these types of privately owned schools drained the market of students from the student-body pool the state owned colleges wanted, they (the state owned colleges) continuously fought tooth-and-nail to keep accreditation and acceptance from being granted to the private schools, and consistently refused to honor credits earned from the private schools - for one reason - TUITION FEE$ - and the state / federal lockin on the educational system.
I saw the result of a school failing (in the mid 1990's) . . . and the totally WRONG actions of the lending agencies, who held the student liable for their loans, even though the school didn't exist, nor was there anything the poor students could do about it, since they had signed the loan agreement papers WITHOUT a bail-out clause to release them from their debt in case of the school going tits-up !
Now, for the realistic view, we can see that community colleges are - BY FAR - the cheapest and most effective path for obtaining an Associate degree, which is USUALLY accepted by most colleges/universities for advanced placement towards a Bachelor's degree program. All it takes is a phone call to the local 4-year colleges to identify the courses that WILL transfer towards a Bachelor's degree.
Something is seriously wrong here, folks. There has been a glut of 'dark fiber' (unused fiber capacity) since the 1990's - and any attempt by the telco's, ISP's, and cable companies has been a totally fabricated 'load limit' based on the usages from decades-old levels. There is enough spare (dark) fiber to provide 100Mbit service for everyone in this country, at a basic rate in the $40 dollar per month range. STOP for a moment and compare the costs of domestic US pricing against most of the Euro-zone facilities - and think about what REAL competition could bring to the American market.
BOTTOM LINE - - - and THIS is the real Issue - is that the 'bean counters' are winning (have won)!
As long as the profit margins are maintained - then the cost of the lawsuits and penalties are, basically, just a 'cost of doing business', and nothing will change until this fundamental issue is resolved. The cost of non-proactive performance / systemic issues MUST be made more expensive than non-compliance.
When the cost accountants (and lawyers) can show that it is cheaper to pay the lawsuit losses and fines than it is to actually fix the problem, then American (and global) business will continue to follow the same old tried-and-true 'pot at the end of the rainbow' - - - the God almighty bottom-line ensconced in the corporate structure that places PROFIT ahead of any other issue - because the board-of-directors MUST be accountable to the shareholders and the fiduciary responsibility of the board is the PRIME DIRECTIVE , or they will be voted out of office.
The 'PINTO' example mentioned in this thread is a prime example of this corporate mind-set. AND, a more current example is the 'Do No Evil' motto that has slowly, but surely, evaporated from the GOOGLE empire.
SUCKS, but that's life, folks.
My only remaining desire is to live long enough to remember - 'the year they killed all the lawyers' - - - NOT a threat, just a fervent, heart-felt wish.
And now - for another tool to tell if you are a 'terrorist' risk !
Damn, all it takes is an RF emitter, receiver, and an AI interface - and GUESS WHAT . . .
Everyone going through an airline queue gets 'sampled' - and guess how many get butt-fsked due to overly sensitive 'AI' analysis . . . . .
GUESS how many false positives will crop up from stressed-out common people simply trying to get somewhere to resolve business problems ! ! !
This tech will run to the TOP of weaponizeable applications as fast as you can say 'oh, sh1t'.
I'm really glad that I'm a disabled veteran who can't travel, and don't have to endure the current Orwellian paranoia that has evolved from the BASIC task assigned to the task force to prevent MASS ATTACKS via airplanes ---NOT to prevent EVERY INCIDENCE of SINGLE AIRPLANE ATTACKS ! ! !
Gotta' love the United States of Authority when they get their quasi-authorization to go ballistic WITHOUT OVERWATCH CONTROL ! ! !
Sweden and the Netherlands are looking more attractive (as an ex-pat) every year that this type of over-bearing 'big brother' process whittles away at our basic human rights.
From a saddened veteran that actually fought for my right to be free - - - and left with the only freedom remaining is to leave this once glorious union.
As a side note - it has now become easier and faster to drive / use a bus / travel by train than to FLY to any destination within a 500 mile radius.
Well, Gee, Fellas, if there is NO DIFFERENCE in COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS, then this seems to be a bottom-feeding slashdot filler to justify a moderator's quota ! ! !
IF the brains appear 10 years older, but are still fully functional, then it should be a PLUS for being overweight.
ONE MAN COULD turn both keys in the activation sequence - which was NOT supposed to be do-able.
During periodic testing of the control room -to- silo control links, a single man was left to activate the keys to test the wiring systems. The 2 consoles were 8 - 10 (or so) feet apart, and designed to REQUIRE 2 men to activate the firing sequence at the same time.
Using 2 nails and a length of sting, the ingenious control house tech put one nail above the second key control, the second nail through the head of the key, tied the string to the second nail (key-head nail) and ran the string across the top nail and over to the second key station.
BINGO! He could turn BOTH keys simultaneously - one by hand, the other by pulling on the string.
When observed (caught) doing this testing, he was told to never discuss it, and the repercussions went like a silent tidal wave all the way to the top.
I still don't know how this was resolved - but I imagine the key consoles were outfitted with additional locks that required pushing an actuator button or something, requiring 2 hands to activate.
Consider the fact that the DEA, Washington congress-critters (alien by nature), and the 'self-righteous' and affiliates have killed, crimilalized, marginalized, and jailed MORE PEOPLE than all of mankinds war losses put together.
Decriminalize, regulate (ie. alcohol), and allow personal choice - - - this single process would more than double the available budget for the US to provide USEFUL support for the taxpayers.
Bottom line: This SINGLE issue would allow granny to safely cash her SS chack without facing a gang of 'users' waiting to rip off the helpless for another fix.
Even after decades of following this issue of H2 vs electric, I STILL haven't seen anything addressing the well-known (in petro-chemical and industrial engineering circles) problem known as 'hydrogen embrittlement'. Years-long exposure to H2, epsecially when under high pressure, effects even the best metals and alloys with seriously degraded resiliance to fracture-stresses eg think of glass being smacked with a hammer.
OK - so batteries have a limited useful work-life, but at least they don't shatter when pile-driven in a collision - - - who's gonna' take out the garbage ===> ALL THE OLD H2 STORAGE CELLS ? ? ?
Several years ago, some high-grade hobbiests recovered data from warehouse-stored audio/video mag tapes from the lunar missions. The one important thing I remember is that they were able to get remarkably good recovery from these ancient tapes by using a very low (mildly warm) oven setting and warming the tapes for several hours BEFORE trying to read them. This had the effect of releasing the tape-to-tape stiction and also re-tensioning the mag-tape mylar base material.
Good luck finding the article - possible by asking/. about it - - - or searching NASA's site.
Another hint - tryout an empty cassette first to see if the other materials can withstand the temperature. You might have to remove the tape spool and heat it seperately. The tape removal and reinsertion is not child's play, but is fairly easy with a steady hand and patience.
It all really depends on how valuable the material is to you personally.
cheers
RELIGION vs REASON - BELIEF vs ANY amount of verifiable evidence.
So sad to see this country, once the leading proponent for free expression and personal freedoms, falling into the same sectarian schism as the muslam world - who, by the way, before the CRUSADES, were very enlightened and tolerant of their neighbors' beliefs and lifestyles.
It's SO much easier to fall under the sway of a charismatic gospel leader than it is to actually THINK for yourself.
THIS is why I paste the Canadian Maple Leaf on all my luggage when travelling abroad (ashamed to be an American),
Slashdot Mirror
Seems to me that this is a moderately cheap way for a multi-national insurance conglomerate to gather real-time health data on a large portion of their employees - I guess it WOULDN'T be for assessing their health issues, and 'adjusting' their policy premiums accordingly. Wonder how long it will take for a class-action suit to evolve from this tactic ? Gotta' love the freedom allowed corporate infrastructures and their legal teams within these 'free' united states !
Jeeez, folks. Doesn't this fall under the general auspices of a 'Public Citizen' who's lifestyle, job, and overall publicity revolves around their PERSONAL INFORMATION IN THE NEWS ? I guess the next step in the 'democratic' state of California is to make it illegal to report on ANY issue / data / personal information of ANY citizen - public official, high profile personage, or 'IN THE NEWS' individual. I would laugh my a** off if it weren't for real - but, sadly, I just mix another drink and bemoan the state of our legal system. ps - I STILL hope I live long enough to see 'the year they killed all the lawyers'.
On the same note (unqualified reporters trying to explain basic scientific issues) is the "EQUAL REPORTING" ethos that has pervaded the news media. EVEN IF the evidence is overwhelmingly in the Global Warning arena, the "Equal Reporting" issue SEEMS to show that half - or thereabouts - of the scientific community does NOT believe the evidence supporting Global Warming - - - when the actual numbers approach 95%(+) FOR, and 5% (or so) AGAINST. The bigger the lie, the easier it is for the masses to believe.
Sadly, and with more than a bit of embarrassment, I worked for a few of these 'diploma mills' - - - and know that they are bound by a legal statute known as the '70-30 rule'. ONLY (lol) 70% of the funding can be government subsidized through loans and grants, the remaining 30% MUST be from 'paying' clients. This number is referred to in the source post - 70% being government assisted. A couple of these schools actually taught some real-world applicable skills and knowledge, but far too many were nothing more than 'suck 'em in, spit 'em out, let the lenders deal with collecting the funds already collected by the 'school' through grants and loans. Hell, one of the recruiters I knew actually 'worked' the bus station to solicit and sign-up people that had no real chance of completing the course, or even getting hired into any decent job related to the course of study (hence my real embarrassment and shame - but a job is a job - and I NEEDED the income I earned as an instructor - and a damned good one - using the training and skills I received from my service in the USAF from 1970 through 1976). Seriously though, the only significant difference between the privately owned schools and the state owned colleges is that the privately owned schools PROMISED a 'great career opportunity' with their associate degree program. In other words, they were guilty of ACTIVE solicitation of their student body, and were never really held accountable for the actual job placement statistics of their graduates. The legal 'weasel' term is the word __OPPORTUNITY__, and was used to justify the lack of job placement effectiveness because it was just an OPPORTUNITY, even though the promotional material APPEARED to PROMISE this type of career advancement - but was really falling back on the legality of the word OPPORTUNITY ! THIS is NO DIFFERENT from state colleges - with the ONE BIG ISSUE of ACTIVE RECRUITMENT promising great careers (opportunity) if they would just sign on the dotted line for their 'government loan' debt. BECAUSE these types of privately owned schools drained the market of students from the student-body pool the state owned colleges wanted, they (the state owned colleges) continuously fought tooth-and-nail to keep accreditation and acceptance from being granted to the private schools, and consistently refused to honor credits earned from the private schools - for one reason - TUITION FEE$ - and the state / federal lockin on the educational system. I saw the result of a school failing (in the mid 1990's) . . . and the totally WRONG actions of the lending agencies, who held the student liable for their loans, even though the school didn't exist, nor was there anything the poor students could do about it, since they had signed the loan agreement papers WITHOUT a bail-out clause to release them from their debt in case of the school going tits-up ! Now, for the realistic view, we can see that community colleges are - BY FAR - the cheapest and most effective path for obtaining an Associate degree, which is USUALLY accepted by most colleges/universities for advanced placement towards a Bachelor's degree program. All it takes is a phone call to the local 4-year colleges to identify the courses that WILL transfer towards a Bachelor's degree.
Something is seriously wrong here, folks. There has been a glut of 'dark fiber' (unused fiber capacity) since the 1990's - and any attempt by the telco's, ISP's, and cable companies has been a totally fabricated 'load limit' based on the usages from decades-old levels. There is enough spare (dark) fiber to provide 100Mbit service for everyone in this country, at a basic rate in the $40 dollar per month range. STOP for a moment and compare the costs of domestic US pricing against most of the Euro-zone facilities - and think about what REAL competition could bring to the American market.
BOTTOM LINE - - - and THIS is the real Issue - is that the 'bean counters' are winning (have won)! As long as the profit margins are maintained - then the cost of the lawsuits and penalties are, basically, just a 'cost of doing business', and nothing will change until this fundamental issue is resolved. The cost of non-proactive performance / systemic issues MUST be made more expensive than non-compliance. When the cost accountants (and lawyers) can show that it is cheaper to pay the lawsuit losses and fines than it is to actually fix the problem, then American (and global) business will continue to follow the same old tried-and-true 'pot at the end of the rainbow' - - - the God almighty bottom-line ensconced in the corporate structure that places PROFIT ahead of any other issue - because the board-of-directors MUST be accountable to the shareholders and the fiduciary responsibility of the board is the PRIME DIRECTIVE , or they will be voted out of office. The 'PINTO' example mentioned in this thread is a prime example of this corporate mind-set. AND, a more current example is the 'Do No Evil' motto that has slowly, but surely, evaporated from the GOOGLE empire. SUCKS, but that's life, folks. My only remaining desire is to live long enough to remember - 'the year they killed all the lawyers' - - - NOT a threat, just a fervent, heart-felt wish.
And now - for another tool to tell if you are a 'terrorist' risk ! Damn, all it takes is an RF emitter, receiver, and an AI interface - and GUESS WHAT . . . Everyone going through an airline queue gets 'sampled' - and guess how many get butt-fsked due to overly sensitive 'AI' analysis . . . . . GUESS how many false positives will crop up from stressed-out common people simply trying to get somewhere to resolve business problems ! ! ! This tech will run to the TOP of weaponizeable applications as fast as you can say 'oh, sh1t'. I'm really glad that I'm a disabled veteran who can't travel, and don't have to endure the current Orwellian paranoia that has evolved from the BASIC task assigned to the task force to prevent MASS ATTACKS via airplanes ---NOT to prevent EVERY INCIDENCE of SINGLE AIRPLANE ATTACKS ! ! ! Gotta' love the United States of Authority when they get their quasi-authorization to go ballistic WITHOUT OVERWATCH CONTROL ! ! ! Sweden and the Netherlands are looking more attractive (as an ex-pat) every year that this type of over-bearing 'big brother' process whittles away at our basic human rights. From a saddened veteran that actually fought for my right to be free - - - and left with the only freedom remaining is to leave this once glorious union. As a side note - it has now become easier and faster to drive / use a bus / travel by train than to FLY to any destination within a 500 mile radius.
Guess I'm telling my ancient age, but I remember when CABLE was advertised as 'no commercials' -lol-
Well, Gee, Fellas, if there is NO DIFFERENCE in COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS, then this seems to be a bottom-feeding slashdot filler to justify a moderator's quota ! ! ! IF the brains appear 10 years older, but are still fully functional, then it should be a PLUS for being overweight.
ummmm, I seem to remember something about this company's decidedly insecure attempt to make voting machines.
WITH LOUD AUDIO -5mod for pure spite
Outside-USA sources - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... , http://blueskydrugs.com/Produc... . and an info post from a 'supposed supplier in CA - http://www.dailykos.com/story/...
ONE MAN COULD turn both keys in the activation sequence - which was NOT supposed to be do-able. During periodic testing of the control room -to- silo control links, a single man was left to activate the keys to test the wiring systems. The 2 consoles were 8 - 10 (or so) feet apart, and designed to REQUIRE 2 men to activate the firing sequence at the same time. Using 2 nails and a length of sting, the ingenious control house tech put one nail above the second key control, the second nail through the head of the key, tied the string to the second nail (key-head nail) and ran the string across the top nail and over to the second key station. BINGO! He could turn BOTH keys simultaneously - one by hand, the other by pulling on the string. When observed (caught) doing this testing, he was told to never discuss it, and the repercussions went like a silent tidal wave all the way to the top. I still don't know how this was resolved - but I imagine the key consoles were outfitted with additional locks that required pushing an actuator button or something, requiring 2 hands to activate.
I think I've seen this - - - somewhere 1) 'give' access to FOSS editors 2) wait for links to $ub$cribe 3) $$$$
Consider the fact that the DEA, Washington congress-critters (alien by nature), and the 'self-righteous' and affiliates have killed, crimilalized, marginalized, and jailed MORE PEOPLE than all of mankinds war losses put together. Decriminalize, regulate (ie. alcohol), and allow personal choice - - - this single process would more than double the available budget for the US to provide USEFUL support for the taxpayers. Bottom line: This SINGLE issue would allow granny to safely cash her SS chack without facing a gang of 'users' waiting to rip off the helpless for another fix.
Even after decades of following this issue of H2 vs electric, I STILL haven't seen anything addressing the well-known (in petro-chemical and industrial engineering circles) problem known as 'hydrogen embrittlement'. Years-long exposure to H2, epsecially when under high pressure, effects even the best metals and alloys with seriously degraded resiliance to fracture-stresses eg think of glass being smacked with a hammer. OK - so batteries have a limited useful work-life, but at least they don't shatter when pile-driven in a collision - - - who's gonna' take out the garbage ===> ALL THE OLD H2 STORAGE CELLS ? ? ?
OK - so reversing polarity DIDN'T work - - - NOW go to MAX POWER (Wil Wheaton's last words . . .)
Several years ago, some high-grade hobbiests recovered data from warehouse-stored audio/video mag tapes from the lunar missions. The one important thing I remember is that they were able to get remarkably good recovery from these ancient tapes by using a very low (mildly warm) oven setting and warming the tapes for several hours BEFORE trying to read them. This had the effect of releasing the tape-to-tape stiction and also re-tensioning the mag-tape mylar base material. Good luck finding the article - possible by asking /. about it - - - or searching NASA's site.
Another hint - tryout an empty cassette first to see if the other materials can withstand the temperature. You might have to remove the tape spool and heat it seperately. The tape removal and reinsertion is not child's play, but is fairly easy with a steady hand and patience.
It all really depends on how valuable the material is to you personally.
cheers
creationists ===> so, a cretin-ist (hint - anagram)
http://climate.nasa.gov/intera... found here http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/multim... along with other goodies or you could spend time going thru http://nasasearch.nasa.gov/sea...
It's a sad day when no significant social changes have been made since "... bread and circus ..."
PTTQ (Preaching To The Choir)
mod UP - and load rifles for /. 'editor' FIRING line -grin-
ANYBODY that can take $50 and credit it to a $500 devaluation is MY type of sucker ( shades of P. T. Barnum )
RELIGION vs REASON - BELIEF vs ANY amount of verifiable evidence. So sad to see this country, once the leading proponent for free expression and personal freedoms, falling into the same sectarian schism as the muslam world - who, by the way, before the CRUSADES, were very enlightened and tolerant of their neighbors' beliefs and lifestyles. It's SO much easier to fall under the sway of a charismatic gospel leader than it is to actually THINK for yourself. THIS is why I paste the Canadian Maple Leaf on all my luggage when travelling abroad (ashamed to be an American),
Pardon my stupidity - I actually thought that there was a modicum of intelligence on this website